Pre-War Regular, Reserve and Territorial Force Infantry Battalions.
Immediately prior to the outbreak of the
Great War, the Regular Infantry of the British Army consisted of four
Guards Regiments and sixty-nine Infantry Regiments. Infantry
Regiments normally consisted of two active Battalions, with one
Battalion serving overseas and one in the UK. Each Regiment
would normally have one Reserve Battalion, usually based at the Regimental
Depot, which trained new soldiers and supplied reinforcing drafts to the
two active Battalions. In the case of the Gloucestershire
Regiment, as with most Infantry Regiments, the active Battalions were
numbered the 1st and 2nd, and the Reserve Battalion numbered the 3rd
(Reserve).
Many of the Infantry Regiments, including
the Gloucestershire Regiment, also had Territorial Force (TF)
Battalions. These were made up of part-time officers and
soldiers who had signed up for Imperial or Home Service, and each of
these Battalion trained its own personnel so there was therefore no
requirement for the TF to be established with Reserve Battalions.
The TF Battalions were numbered after the Regular and Reserve Battalions
of the Regiment and often had a second title linking them with their
home city or town. In the Gloucestershire Regiment these
were numbered 4th (City of Bristol), 5th and 6th Battalions TF.
Each of the active Battalions, overseas
and UK based, were grouped with a Brigade and/or Division and
immediately prior to the outbreak of war, Battalions of the
Gloucestershire Regiment were deployed as follows:
- 1st Battalion (Regular).
Based at Bordon, Hants, part of 3rd Brigade/1st Division.
- 2nd Battalion (Regular). Based at Tientsin, China (protecting the British Concession in the
City).
- 3rd (Reserve) Battalion.
Based at Horfield Barracks, Bristol.
- 4th Battalion (TF). Based at
Queen's Road, Clifton, Bristol. Part of the Gloucestershire
and Worcestershire Brigade, South Midland Division (TF) - later 144th
Brigade, 48th Division.
- 5th Battalion (TF). Based at
The Barracks, Gloucester. Part of South Midlands Brigade,
South Midland Division (TF) - later 145th Brigade, 48th Division.
- 6th Battalion (TF). Based at
St Michael's Hill, Tyndall's Park, Bristol. Part of the
Gloucestershire and Worcestershire Brigade, South Midland Division (TF)
- later 144th Brigade, 48th Division.
The Re-Organisation at the Outbreak of
War.
The Regular and Reserve Battalions saw
little change at the outbreak of war, only their reinforcement to War Establishment by Regular
and Special Reservists and the deployment to mobilisation locations.
In the TF Battalions, those personnel who had signed up for Imperial
Service were formed into the First Line unit of the Battalion, designated (for
example) 1/4th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment (TF), for service
overseas. Those who had signed for Home Service (and could
not or would not sign up for Imperial Service) were formed up into the
Second Line unit of the Battalion (eg, 2/4th Battalion Gloucestershire
Regiment) for Home Service only. These Battalions continued
to recruit and train their own personnel. In the
Gloucestershire Regiment, after the First Line Battalions joined their
respective Brigades/Divisions for intensive training, the Second Line Territorial Force
Battalions raised were:
- 2/4th Battalion (TF).
Based at Bristol, part of 2nd Gloucestershire and Worcestershire
Brigade, South Midland Division (TF) - later 183rd Brigade, 61st
Division.
- 2/5th Battalion (TF).
Based at Gloucester, part of 2nd South Midland Brigade, South
Midland Division (TF) - later 184th Brigade, 61st Division.
- 2/6th Battalion (TF).
Based at Bristol, part of 2nd Gloucestershire and Worcestershire
Brigade, South Midland Division (TF) - later 183rd Brigade, 48th
Division.
Service Battalions. On
the outbreak of war, The Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, saw
that the UK must be prepared for a war lasting three to four years,
requiring an Army of at least 70 Divisions. On 7th August
1914, he started a campaign to recruit an initial 100,000 men, but the
response was overwhelming and 500,000 were signed up. He
decided not to use the framework of the TF to expand the Army, but to
create a "New Army", separate from the current Regulars and
Territorials. More than 500 New Army Battalions were raised
forming the basis of three New Armies, known as K1 (9th - 14th
Division), K2 15th - 20th Division) and K3 (21st- 26th Division).
The New Army Battalions were numbered consecutively after the existing
Regular and Territorial Force Battalions and they were distinguished by the
word "Service", in brackets, after their number. In the
Gloucestershire Regiment the Service Battalions raised were:
- 7th (Service) Battalion. Raised at Horfield Barracks, Bristol, in August - September 1914.
K1. Allocated to 39th Brigade, 13th Division.
- 8th (Service) Battalion. Raised at Horfield Barracks, Bristol, in August - September 1914.
K2. Allocated to 57th Brigade, 19th Division.
- 9th (Service) Battalion. Raised at Horfield Barracks, Bristol in August - September 1914.
K3. Allocated to 78th Brigade, 26th Division.
- 10th (Service) Battalion.
Raised at Horfield Barracks, Bristol in August - September 1914.
K3. Initially allocated to 26th Division.
- 11th (Service) Battalion.
Formed at Woolwich Garrison, London in October 1914.
K4. Allocated to 106th Brigade, 35th Div. Became a Second Reserve Battalion, on the
break-up of 4th Army in late 1914/early 1915, to train and supply
reinforcements to Gloucestershire Regiment Service Battalions of K1, K2
and K3.
Locally Raised Service Battalions.
Apart from the formal Service Battalions being raised as described
above, local Citizen's Recruiting Committees were raising their own
Battalions independent of the War Office. The expense of
raising, clothing, feeding, housing and training of these Battalions
were met by the Recruiting Committees until they were formally taken
over by the War Office in the spring of 1915 and added to the Army Establishment.
At this time all previous expenses were refunded to Committees and
further costs borne by the War Office. These Battalions were
to become known as Locally Raised Battalions and provided the majority
of the infantry for the 4th New Army (K4). The Battalions
were number consecutively after the Service Battalions in a Regiment and
had an additional title showing the connection with the city, area or
organisation which raised them. In the Gloucestershire
Regiment the Locally Raised Battalions were:
- 12th (Service) Battalion (Bristol).
Raised at Bristol, in August - September 1914. K4.
Allocated to 95th Brigade, 32nd Division.
- 13th (Service) Battalion (Forest of
Dean)(Pioneer). Raised at Malvern, in December 1914.
K4. Allocated to 39th Division as the Divisional Pioneer
Battalion.
- 14th (Service) Battalion (West of
England). Raised at Bristol in April 1915. K4.
Allocated to 105th Brigade, 35th Division.
Further Re-Organisations.
Territorial Force (TF).
By June 1915 most of the First Line Battalions of the TF had been
deployed to active service locations overseas and the Second Line
Battalions were preparing for future overseas service and so a Third
Line Battalion (eg 3/4th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment TF) was
formed as a depot to train and supply reinforcements to the First Line and later to the Second Line Battalions.
Home Service personnel and those not fit for overseas service were
transferred from the Second and Third Line Battalions to the
non-Regimentally affiliated 82nd Provisional Battalion TF at
Walton-on-the-Naze. In the Gloucestershire Regiment, the Third Line Battalions raised were:
- 3/4th Battalion (TF).
Formed
at Bristol and moved Weston-super-Mare in April 1915 to train recruits
and provide drafts for 1/4th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment and
later 2/4th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment. Part of
South Midland Reserve Group TF. Became 4th (Reserve)
Battalion Gloucestershire TF on 1st April 1916, part of South
Midland Reserve Brigade TF at Ludgershall, Wilts. The
unit was billeted at Cheltenham, Catterick and Horton before being
based at Seaton Delavel in October 1917 where it remained to the end
of the war as part of Tyne Garrison.
- 3/5th Battalion (TF).
Formed
at Gloucester and moved Weston-super-Mare in April 1915 to train
recruits and provide drafts for 1/5th Battalion Gloucestershire
Regiment and later 2/5th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment.
Part of South Midland Reserve Group TF. Became 5th
(Reserve) Battalion Gloucestershire TF on 1st April 1916, part of
South Midland Reserve Brigade TF. On 1st September 1916
the unit was subsumed into 4th (Reserve) Battalion Gloucestershire
Regiment.
- 3/6th Battalion (TF).
Formed
at Bristol and moved Weston-super-Mare in April 1915 to train recruits
and provide drafts for 1/6th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment and
later 2/6th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment. Part of
South Midland Reserve Group TF. Became 6th (Reserve)
Battalion Gloucestershire TF on 1st April 1916, part of South
Midland Reserve Brigade TF. On 1st September 1916
the unit was subsumed into 4th (Reserve) Battalion Gloucestershire
Regiment.
Locally Raised Service Battalions.
By late 1915 and early 1916 the
three locally raised battalions of
the Gloucestershire Regiment (12th,
13th and 14th) had been deployed to
active service locations overseas
but no local Reserve Battalions had
been established to supply them with
recruited and trained manpower.
Two further Reserve Battalions of
the Gloucestershire Regiment were
therefore raised as follows:
-
15th
(Reserve) Battalion.
Formed at Sutton Park Camp,
Sutton Coldfield in August 1915
from the Depot Companies of 12th
and 14th Battalions.
-
16th
(Reserve) Battalion.
Formed at Chiseldon Camp in
November 1915 from the Depot
Company of 13th Battalion.
Service Battalions.
By spring 1915 it had become clear
that voluntary recruitment was not
going to provide the numbers of men
required. The Government
passed the National Registration
Act on 15th July 1915 as a step
towards stimulating recruitment and
to discover how many men between the
ages of 15 and 65 were engaged in
each trade. The results
of this census became available by
mid-September 1915 and on
11th October 1915, Lord Derby was
appointed Director-General of
Recruiting. He brought
forward a scheme five days later,
always called the Derby Scheme, for
raising the numbers. It was
half-way to conscription.
Disappointed at the results
of the Derby Scheme, the Government
introduced the Military Service Act
on 27 January 1916. All
voluntary enlistment was stopped as
all British males were now deemed to
have enlisted - that is, they were
conscripted - if they were
aged between 18 and 41 and resided
in Great Britain (excluding Ireland)
and were unmarried or a widower on 2
November 1915.
Conscripted men were no longer given
a choice of which service, regiment
or unit they joined, although if a
man preferred the navy it got
priority to take him.
This act was extended to married men
on 25 May 1916.
The
Training Organisation, based on the
Regimental Reserve Battalions could
not cope with the sheer number of
conscripted men now available and a
new system was put in place on 1st
September 1916 to deal with these
numbers. All New Army
Regimental Reserve Battalions would
lose their Regimental identity and
become a Battalion of the Training
Reserve. The role of
these Battalions was to train new
recruits and despatch drafts to
Service Battalions overseas.
The Reserve Battalions of the
Gloucestershire Regiment were
reorganised as follows:
- 11th (Reserve) Battalion.
Based at Seaford, formed the
16th Training Reserve Battalion,
part of 4th Reserve Brigade.
- 15th (Reserve) Battalion.
Based at Chiseldon, formed 93rd
Training Reserve Battalion, part
of 22nd Reserve Brigade.
- 16th (Reserve) Battalion.
Based at Chiseldon, formed 94th
Training Reserve Battalion, part
of 22nd Reserve Brigade.
More Reorganisations.
Territorial Force.
On 1st January 1917 the 82nd
Provisional Battalion TF, with all
medically fit Home Service personnel
conscripted and sent overseas with
active units, was formed into the
17th Battalion Gloucestershire
Regiment TF for Home/Coastal Defence duties,
part of 226th Brigade, based at
Walton-on-the-Naze and later St
Osyth, Clacton.
Service Battalions.
The 18th (Service) Battalion
Gloucestershire Regiment was formed
at Clacton on 20th June 1918 from a
cadre of 5th Bn Ox & Bucks LI,
and allocated to the re-constituted 49th
Brigade, 16th Division, and deployed
to the BEF.
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